SPECIALISTS News
ART
Our art room is bursting with colour and imagination as we head into the final weeks of term! Prep students are carefully finishing their Georgia O’Keeffe–inspired flower artworks, with bold painted petals and handmade bees that add a playful touch. Grade 1/2 students have been experimenting with paint to create vibrant textured papers, which they’ll soon cut and layer into striking Pete Cromer–style animal collages full of personality.
The Grade 3/4 students have just completed their stunning neurographic art pieces — the flowing lines and soft shapes look incredible together, and we can’t wait to showcase them in an upcoming display. Meanwhile, the Grade 5/6s are bringing their steampunk robot sculptures to life, using paper-mâché to build strong structures before adding imaginative details like gears, bolts, and panels, ready for painting and rusting effects. There’s a lot to squeeze in before the holidays, but the students’ enthusiasm and pride in their creations makes the art room an exciting place to be!
SPANISH
Hola hola!
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Spanish with our annual LOTE day in Week 6.
This was a beautiful day for the Hispanic community to come together and share their cultural knowledge and experiences with us at Dinjerra. We had Wendy from Colombia come in and do some exciting and fast moving dance, Veronica and Bernardo showing us some Chilean dance, Kathleen to run an Aztec game called Ulama and some wonderful workshops by our specialist teachers. This year we had a guest facilitator; our very own Mr V showcasing the Lucha Libre art form of Mexican wrestling and creating masks with the students!
I’d like to especially thank one of our local parents, Liliana Bravo for the beautiful idea of a Latino photography exhibition where various families could submit photos and artefacts from their home countries. This was the first time this has happened for LOTE day and it was wonderful to see photos from various students’ countries of origin.
We have been studying places in town and here are some of the creative maps by the 5/6 students; Shine, Audrey and Nong Mai. I love how they all have their own individual style!
STEM
Throughout Term Three students have delved deep into biological science! Learning was tailored using the 2025 Science Week theme, ‘Decoding the Universe – Exploring the unknown with nature's hidden language’, and the wonderings of students in a variety of hands-on sequence of lessons.
The lower primary years explored a range of animal species, identifying features that are important for their survival. They categorised animals based on what they eat, what class of species they are, and their natural habitat. They came face-to-face with a range of taxidermied animals including a green sea turtle, flying fox and a tiger shark jaw!
Upper primary years explored how species have evolved over time, which is evidenced in our fossil records. They understand that species can evolve in a range of ways, including by their physical features, and in the case of humans, the size of the brain. They investigated the 5 mass extinction events, one of which brought the end to approximately 95% of all species on Earth! Students also enhanced their digital literacy skills by using Google Classroom to create and add to their STEM digital portfolio throughout the term.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Term Three has been a big one for PE! We began with our full school athletics day at Moonee Valley Athletics track. Lower primary students enjoyed mini athletics games in a sports carnival, whilst upper primary students competed in their houses in athletic track and field events. Everyone put in a terrific effort and gave it their best!
Our athletics day was excellent preparation for District Athletics which came shortly after. Our Dinjerra students cheered each other on, amongst tight competition from surrounding schools. We performed exceptionally well, with Sameer and Leon winning hurdles and discus, respectively. Well done kids!
All year levels have been working on their distance running, with many joining the lunch time running clubs to race other students. It’s been great to see students excited and passionate about fitness and enjoying new challenges. Term 4 – let's go!
